Gateway NO50

Finishing up
The NO50 isn't found lacking when it comes to connectivity. There's the usual array of networking technologies consisting of 802.11bg+draft-n wireless, gigabit Ethernet and Bluetooth, while peering around the NO50's edges reveals four USB ports, VGA and DVI outputs and a card reader to boot. There are both PC Card and ExpressCard/54 slots - a boon for companies with a mixture of newer and older hardware ??" and a SmartCard reader underneath for further security.

The package is rounded off with Gateway's new warranty which provides a single year of C&R cover followed by a further two years of parts-only RTB cover.

The burning question is how the NO50 stacks up against the competition, and in the absence of a per-unit price it's difficult to come to a definitive conclusion. Lenovo's superb T500 is a similar laptop in many respects, but for its £1,244 asking price it doesn't get much wrong. It ups the ante with a far superior keyboard, a fine screen, switchable graphics for improved battery life and integrated 3G, too: it's a simply superb mobile workstation.

If Gateway really wants to compete with Sony and Lenovo's formidable business ranges, then it's going to have to take full advantage of its business-to-business sales model and offer the NO50 at a suitably aggressive price. Given its current reluctance to provide any guide pricing whatsoever, though, the newly revived Gateway is in danger of losing potential customers before it's even started.

Author: Sasha Muller